Estate Agents: What’s the difference between custom audiences and Interest targeting Facebook adverts

Facebook adverts are a fantastic way for estate agents to connect with likely clients. Your audience is on Facebook, and these ads offer a cost-effective way of reaching people.

The reason Facebook ads are cost effective is due to the targeting capabilities. You don’t have to waste money talking to a large expanse of people, many of whom have no interest in you. You can create ads that are right for a smaller group of people, and speak to them directly. This enhances your effectiveness, and helps you enjoy a better return on your ad spending.

If you are interested in Facebook ads, you should consider:

• Custom audiences
• Interest targeting

What are custom audiences when using Facebook adverts?

Custom audiences are a targeting option in Facebook ads. This option allows you to find your existing audience amongst Facebook users.

You can access a range of sources to find people who already know your business, which should make it easier to connect with this audience. After all, connecting with a warmed-up lead is usually easier and more effective than attempting to develop a cold lead.

What types of custom audiences are there?

It should be noted Facebook is rolling out new types of custom audiences on a regular basis. Also, you can create up to 500 custom audiences for each ad account, so you have plenty of opportunities to use this feature.

Some of the leading custom audiences are as follows.

Customer List

This list contains information you have already collecting including emails, phone numbers or even Facebook User IDs that Facebook is able to match with its users. You will find Facebook is normally capable of matching between 60% and 70% of the contacts you have on your list.

Website Custom Audiences

By inserting a Facebook pixel tracking code on to your website, it is possible to create a contact list of users who have visited your website, or even a specific page on your website, in a set time-frame. This time-frame can last for 180 days, so if you drive considerable traffic to your site, you have an opportunity to connect with a lot of people later on Facebook.

Offline Activity

If you connect with prospective clients in the “real-world” and take their contact details, you can upload these to Facebook and create a list.

Facebook Sources – Engagement Custom Audiences

It is possible to create a list of people who engage your content, such as posts, videos, forms and events on Facebook and Instagram.

The duration for the audience types can last to one full year, although for contacts developed through lead generation forms, the duration is 90 days.

Of course, the more recent the activity, the better when it comes to engaging people.

When you have created a custom audience list, not only can you connect these people directly, you can also create a lookalike audience. This allows you to connect with people who are deemed similar to the people who already engage with your business.

What are the benefits of using custom audiences when making Facebook adverts?

Custom audiences make your ads more relevant, which means they should be more effective. Ultimately, custom audiences help you save money while improving the return you receive on investment, which is an outcome all businesses should be looking for.

The main benefits of using custom audiences when making Facebook adverts are:

• You can connect with previous website visitors
• You can connect with people who expressed an interest in your business but who didn’t conclude a deal
• You can exclude people who you don’t feel are the right fit for your ads
• You can connect with new audiences that are deemed to be like your existing audiences

No matter who you are looking to connect with, custom audiences provide you with a platform for advertising success.

If you want to connect with people who already know you or who have shown an interest in what you offer, this is a highly effective way to do so.

If you want to remove certain people from your adverts, such as people who have bought from you, or people in a certain demographic, you can do so. This helps you save money, as you are no longer wasting money in reaching people who have no interest in what you offer.

If you are keen to reach new clients, but want to lower the money you waste, you can target people who share characteristics with your existing customers.

No matter what approach you wish to take when using Facebook ads, custom audiences offer a fantastic starting point.

What is interest targeting when using Facebook adverts?

Another option to consider when using Facebook ads is interest targeting. Here, you can target people based on what they like or have shown an interest in. If your audience features a demographic or demographics which share common interests, hobbies or activities, you can create ads that reach out to these people.

It is probably easier for some businesses to use this type of focus in their Facebook ads than others. If you sell football memorabilia, you’ll find more people express their love of the game, which makes it easier to target interests, and the right people.

If you sell houses, it becomes harder. This isn’t to say it is impossible, but you need to be smart, and use the full capabilities of this Facebook feature.

You can look for people who have searched or liked mortgage broker pages, finance pages, and other estate agent pages. Rather than focusing on the idea of an interest in buying a home, think about the actions people take when researching a home, and this will provide you with an opportunity to connect with the right people.

What are the benefits of using interest targeting when making Facebook adverts?

The key reason to use interest targeting when making Facebook ads is you increase the chances of connecting with someone in a way that they enjoy, or are enthused about. Connecting with a cold audience is challenging, but if you do so with a purpose, and engage the audience in a manner they appreciate, you enhance your chances of connecting with them.

Another significant benefit is it allows you to raise awareness of your brand, and connect with people who don’t know you. It is one thing to say you only want to connect with a warm audience, but at some point, every member of your warm audience was unaware of you.

Therefore, there will always be an argument to reach out further than your existing audience, and using interest targeting ensures you aren’t starting from scratch.

What are the differences between custom audiences and interest targeting with Facebook ads?

While both features allow you to create a group of people to reach with ads, the groups are created in different ways. Custom audiences might be seen as a more tangible way of creating audiences, as the definition of the group is defined by things people have done or actions they have taken.

Interest targeting is less tangible, based on things people like or enjoy doing.

If you have defined audiences, in real-life or on Facebook, custom audiences are a great place to start. Most businesses would prefer to start with warm clients as opposed to cold clients, and agents are no different.

However, there will be times when interest targeting is of benefit.

If you are new, and you have no defined audiences to start with, targeting by interest can help you define your first audience. It might be you have already mined your existing audience as far as you can, and you are keen to expand your prospective customer base.

If you are, targeting by interest can help you target new clients in a way that expands your audience base.

In this way, it can be seen that agents can benefit from using both types of targeting, although it is helpful to focus on one campaign at a time.

If you are an estate agent looking to win instructions and gain new clients, you need to find the right clients, and utilising Facebook ads is crucial. At Agent Media, we are social media and content specialists, and we are pleased to say we have assisted estate agents and agencies connect with their audience, develop their reputation and gain instructions.

If you want to learn how to use Facebook to reach and develop your audience, and ultimately, sell homes in a challenging time, contact us today.

Thanks for reading hope you enjoyed it :-)

Ian Watson

Founder

Agent Media

01480 589003

ian.watson@agentmedia.co.uk